The present invention relates generally to heat exchangers, and more particularly, but not by way of limitation, to shell-and-tube heat exchangers.
Various shell-and-tube heat exchangers have been disclosed in the art. Several of these heat exchangers have been put into successful, practical application. With shell-and-tube heat exchangers, and more particularly with large shell-and-tube heat exchangers, it may be necessary to provide support for the tubes to prevent sagging of the tubes and to prevent damage due to vibrational build-up in the tubes during operation. Rod baffles may be added to the shell-and-tube heat exchanger during manufacturing to provide support for the heat exchange tubes; however, fitting already existing heat exchangers with rod baffles is difficult due to having to tear apart the tube bundle in order to add in rod baffles. It, therefore, would be useful to have a rod baffle that could be easily retrofitted onto existing shell-and-tube heat exchangers.